The Four Horsemen-The Red Horse
“And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see, And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” Revelation 6:3-4
In yesterday’s blog (8/12/20), I wrote about the first horseman of the apocalypse, who is thought to be the antichrist riding upon a white horse. He goes forth to conquer for his goal is to be a conquering king in place of Jesus Christ who is the true King of kings and Lord of lords and will never be defeated. When Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for man’s sins, He conquered Satan at that time by giving to all those who repent and believe in Him everlasting life. Scripture tells us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), thus death is all that Satan has to offer. To put it simply, Jesus offers life; Satan offers death.
If the rider of the white horse is the antichrist (someone unknown at this time, but one whom Satan will possess) who will bring peace for three and one half years (42 months) upon a world in turmoil, then it would appear that midway through the seven year tribulation period, when the antichrist shows his true colors as a brutal dictator, the second beast, possibly the one who was like a calf, called for John to come and see the scroll as Jesus broke the second seal to reveal the contents of the document.
The vision that John saw in the scroll or book was also one of a horse and a rider, but this time the horse was red. I believe the rider was the same ruler who was on the white horse. He was no longer a peacemaker, but a man of war and destruction. He had received power from Satan to take peace from the earth, bringing warfare and hostility among the nations of the world. The red horse is indicative of bloodshed. The rider was given a great sword whereby he could conquer whom he pleased with one quick slash. He would have so much power that no one on earth could stop him from his bloodthirsty rule over the people of earth. It is hard to imagine anyone with that much power other than Almighty God, but he will have millions following him and doing his bidding. We might wonder how people could align themselves with such a tyrant, but it is not that hard to believe. All we have to do is read the headlines, check on line, or watch television. Some of the things that are being proposed by politicians sound completely insane. Many want to abolish the police. Do they think that everyone will then stop doing crime? Some want to kill babies, even after they are born. Then there are those who desire to raise taxes which will place a tremendous burden upon folks, especially the middle class. Some want to do away with cars, trucks, and planes. How do they think that the food will get to the supermarkets? These ideas are so far out into the twilight zone that I can’t understand why anyone would vote for such horrible policies.
Whether we are in this specific time as scripture prophesies or not, we are surely headed that way. Who would have thought that things could change so quickly? Believers need to stay in prayer for our nation and each other. We need to pray that God would keep us strong and safe in these unprecedented times. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 5:2-9 that believers know that the Lord will come “as a thief in the night”. People won’t be looking for Him, then all of a sudden He will come to bring judgment upon a sinful world. However, because believers are “the children of light, and the children of the day, we are not of the night, nor of darkness”. Paul then cautions believers not to get lazy or indifferent as do many others, but to “watch and be sober”, that is to watch and stay alert. Don’t be like those who stay in darkness and are not concerned about their eternity, but let us put “on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”